Character Relationship Map: Mind Game

Characters

• Nishi (played by Koji Imada) — protagonist

  Nishi is a 20-year-old NEET from Osaka who dreams of becoming a comic book artist and is reunited with his childhood crush, Myon. After being killed by Atsu, he escapes limbo through sheer determinati...

• Myon (played by Sayaka Maeda) — protagonist

  Myon is Nishi's childhood crush and the daughter of the yakitori restaurant owner. She brings Nishi home, becomes threatened by Atsu, and escapes with Nishi and Yan after Atsu's death. Inside the whal...

• Yan (played by Seiko Takuma) — supporting

  Yan is Myon's elder sister and accompanies Myon and Nishi during their flight from the yakuza. After the trio is swallowed by the whale, she accepts their unusual refuge and practices dancing and art...

• Yakuza (played by Rintaro Nishi) — supporting

  The Yakuza is the senior member accompanying Atsu during the attack on Myon's family restaurant. He is offended by Atsu's uncontrolled behavior and fatally shoots Atsu after Nishi is killed. Later, as...

• Atsu (played by Kenichi Chujou) — supporting

  Atsu is a violent yakuza who enters the restaurant seeking the father of Myon and Yan after an alleged betrayal involving his girlfriend. He threatens Myon with a gun, attacks Ryou, and kills Nishi, b...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Atsu → Yakuza (Professional Criminal Associate) — Atsu operates within the same yakuza group as the listed Yakuza.

  Atsu enters the restaurant with another yakuza while searching for Myon's father.

• Myon → Yan (Family Sisters) — Yan is Myon's elder sister.

  Myon introduces Nishi to her elder sister Yan at the yakitori restaurant.

• Nishi → Myon (Romantic Childhood Crush) — Nishi has longstanding romantic feelings for Myon.

  Nishi runs into his childhood crush, Myon, on the subway and follows her to her family's restaurant.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Yakuza → Myon (Conflict Pursuer) — Myon is targeted first at the restaurant and later during the chase.

  The yakuza enter the restaurant seeking Myon's father and later pursue the car containing Myon.

• Yan → Atsu (Conflict Adversary) — Yan is placed in opposition to Atsu's violent criminal threat.

  Yan escapes the restaurant with Nishi and Myon after Atsu is killed, while the yakuza pursue them.

• Myon → Atsu (Conflict Threatened Victim) — Atsu directly terrorizes and endangers Myon.

  Atsu enters the restaurant looking for Myon's father, threatens Myon at gunpoint, and prepares to rape her.

• Nishi → Atsu (Conflict Mortal Enemy) — Their lethal confrontation drives the film's alternate timeline.

  Atsu kills Nishi in the first timeline, while Nishi seizes Atsu's gun and fatally shoots him after returning to the moment before the trigger pull.

• Nishi → Yan (Alliance Escape Companion) — Nishi and Yan cooperate during the flight from the yakuza.

  After Nishi shoots Atsu, he escapes in the yakuza's car together with Yan and Myon.

• Yakuza → Yan (Conflict Pursuer) — Yan is endangered by the continuing criminal pursuit.

  The yakuza pursue the car after Yan escapes with Nishi and Myon.

• Yakuza → Nishi (Conflict Pursuer) — The yakuza force Nishi into a continuing flight.

  The yakuza follow Nishi after the escape and threaten to frame the group for armed robbery and murder.

Story Analysis

A timid young man's will to live transforms a fatal encounter into an impossible journey toward intimacy, creativity, and freedom.

Plot Progression

1. A Crush Meets Violence — Nishi reconnects with Myon and visits her family restaurant. The arrival of Atsu and the yakuza turns a personal reunion into a deadly confrontation.
2. Death And Defiance — Nishi dies and is trapped in a repeating vision of his death. He confronts a shape-shifting divine figure and chooses life instead of disappearance.
3. The Impossible Escape — Nishi returns before the shooting and changes the outcome by taking Atsu's gun. The trio flees through a violent chase that ends inside an enormous whale.
4. Life In The Whale — Inside the whale, Nishi, Myon, and Yan adapt to an isolated life and pursue personal dreams. Their fragile refuge collapses when the water level begins rising.
5. A Story Without End — The survivors construct a motorboat and escape when the whale returns to Osaka. A changed subway moment and a character montage close the film on open-ended possibility.